Dave Rennie has addressed the media for the first time since the All Blacks landed in Cape Town, describing Rassie Erasmus as 'phenomenal' and outlining a squad management plan that will keep Ardie Savea on the sidelines until 10 days before the first Test.
Forty-three of the 44-man touring party have arrived in the Mother City ahead of the August 7 opener against the Stormers at DHL Stadium, where the squad received a warm welcome at their official tour arrival event. Savea, who captained New Zealand through the Nations Championship Southern Series, is being given a mandatory rest period and will not join the squad in South Africa until just before the first Test on August 22 in Johannesburg. He will also miss the franchise match against the Bulls.
"Ardie's had a massive workload," said Rennie. "He's been playing and training since January 2025, and so that's about 18 months' worth of top-level footy, so we just wanted him to take some time out. He didn't want to do it during the previous Test series. He won't play against the Bulls either, but he'll be here in South Africa 10 days before the Test."
The routing of the squad's travel was complicated by the ongoing situation in the Gulf, forcing a late rerouting away from Dubai. The touring party ultimately arrived via three separate corridors — one group through Hong Kong, one through Singapore and one through Perth.
Rennie, whose tenure as head coach opened with three consecutive July wins over France, Italy and Ireland, is conscious of managing load across a congested schedule that takes in four franchise matches and three Tests in South Africa between August 7 and September 5, spread across Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria, before a fourth and final Test in Baltimore on September 12.
"It's a pretty tight schedule, and we've got times when one group's playing and the other group's training on the same day," Rennie acknowledged. "We've got to make sure that we embrace the country and the challenge and get your head out of footy at times too."
Despite the demands of the itinerary, Rennie confirmed the squad will travel as a single unit throughout the tour rather than splitting groups between cities. "We want to stay together as one team. We won't leave a group here or send another group ahead. We'll be in the city and be in the stands supporting each other."